Abstract This critical paper explores Susan Glaspell's first drama, "Trifles", a murder and investigation story. Within the plot lies the undertone of sexual discrimination and the effects it had upon women. Although murder is not a justifiable action, no matter what the offense may be, "Trifles" generates sympathy towards the murderer for what she has been through and makes the reader feel less like she was the suspect and more like she was the victim.
From the Paper "Susan Glaspell's first drama, Trifles, was written on one afternoon in 1916 as Glaspell sat in an empty theater staring at an empty stage. Based on her memories of a murder trial she covered in earlier days as a reporter, Trifles is a story of murder, evidence, and justice. However, underneath the outer facts, emotions, oppressions, and motives are exposed. Two of the major themes developed in the plot of Trifles are the physical and psychological oppressions suffered by the women of the early 1900s and the significance of a male-dominated civilization. Trifles gives the reader a perfect example of how the suspect of a story can evolve into a victim as the plot develops and the inner emotions are revealed."
Abstract This paper offers a comparison of Susan Glaspell's short story "Trifles" with Dostoevsky's novel "Crime and Punishment," based on the interplay of conscience, crime and social experience. The paper describes plots of premeditated murder and the investigation surrounding the murders.
From the Paper "This research examines ways in which social experience informs conscience and behavior with reference to Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment" and Glaspell's play "Trifles" and the short story on which it was based, "A Jury of Her Peers." The research will set forth the cultural context of each narrative and then compare and contrast how conscience-related issues are treated by the texts with a view toward identifying ways in which inter penetrations of conscience and social constructs affect or explain behavior."
Abstract This paper is an analysis of Glaspell's play "Trifles". It shows that by looking at the play, a reader is able to glimpse into the life of a woman during the Victorian period. The paper explains how "Trifles" is a reflection of Glaspell's life in many aspects.
From the Paper "As one of the most recognized dramatic writers of the early 20th century, Susan Glaspell (1882-1948), winner of the Pulitzer Prize for drama for Alison's House in 1931, a play based in part on the life of American poet Emily Dickinson, "is still known primarily as the author of Trifles, the frequently-anthologized, classic feminist play about two women's secret discovery of a wife's murder of her husband," which was later re-written as a short story called "A Jury of Her Peers" (Ozieblo, 12). Glaspell's life was one of much controversy and discovery, for when she decided to become a writer, America was still under the influence of Victorian scruples and morals which Glaspell used to her advantage in order to write a number of novels and plays that exposed the hardships and difficulties of being a woman in a world ruled by men."
Abstract This paper analyzes the feminist issues that arise within American patriarchal Victorian society within the play "Trifles" by Susan Glaspell. It looks at how the play revolves around the murder investigation of Mr. Wright's wife in relation to her husband's murder and how the various stereotypical female gender roles in the play deny an accurate and unbiased account of the murder through the men and woman that collect evidence for trial. In essence, the paper shows how the gender role of the housewife and the alienated female in Victorian society are the central aspects of stereotypes brought forth by Glaspell in her feminist drama: "Trifles".
From the Paper "The general plot of Trifles is centered around the mysterious murder of Mr. Wright, a local farmer. His wife, Mrs. Wright, never appears in the play, but is constantly referred to in relation to her possible involvement in the crime. The investigation and ensuing court case revolves around the gender stereotypes that the male officials provide when discovering Mrs. Wright's strange behavior after the death of her husband. In the case of Lewis Hale--who had discovered Mr. Wright's body--his own descriptions of Mrs. Wright infer a strong Victorian sense of the "nurturing" housewife when he had initially questioned her."
Abstract This paper relates that Susan Glaspell, a reporter, based her one-act play "Trifles" on events that actually happened in Iowa near the turn of the 20th century, which she covered. The author points out that the plot of the play is as if Glaspell didn't like the outcome of the real-life situation and then got to craft her own ending. The paper relates that the themes in "Trifles"are gender relationships, the tug-of-war battles between the sexes, women's perceptive intuition vs. men's bullishness, male chauvinism and the good-old-boy network of criminal justice
From the Paper "After leaving newspaper work, her writing was strictly fictional; until that is her husband, George Cram Cook (a classics scholar with whom she had been involved during his second marriage in a long affair) urged her to write a play. "Glaspell may have been trying to buoy up Cook's artistic reputation by making him out to be the party responsible" for her literary success, something he, Cook, had never achieved. Meanwhile, even though Glaspell herself carried on an affair with a married man, thus hurting another woman, she painted men in "Trifles" as the bad guys."
Abstract The paper discusses the play "Trifles" by Susan Glaspell, the characteristics of the women and the attitudes to their men and how their own roles in life are gradually illuminated. The author shows how the intensity of the situation, in effect two women judging the life of the third, absent party, provides a context in which Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peter grow significantly, in character, strength and importance.
From the Paper "The relationships that are initially introduced are between the women and their men. Specifically, Mrs. Hale, Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Wright are wives first and foremost, and Mrs. Wright, or Minnie, seems more powerless in her absence; she is introduces through a critical, male character, Hale. The women appear used to the men working without their involvement, as the opening dialogue takes place without their interruption and they do not speak again until they are addressed, albeit to defend Mrs. Wright. However, the first thing Mrs. Hale says when the men leave, is bold and distances her from the men:
" I'd hate to have men coming into my kitchen, snooping around and criticising" "
Abstract The uneven power relationship between men and women underlies the play "Trifles" and the short story "Cat in the Rain." This paper discusses how the women in the two stories manifest their dissatisfaction with their inferior position in different ways, and how the authors bring out the nature of the relationship in very different ways.
From the Paper "In her short play Trifles, Susan Glaspell provides a strong feminist point of view, presenting three women who show greater understanding of one another than the men show of either the women or other men. The structure of the play also emphasizes that these women play a subservient role to the men in societal terms, standing as wives first and individuals second, and also being treated as something that needs to be protected when in fact they do not, at least not in the classic sense of male paternalism. Women are seen as having less important interests than men and as being given to the "trifles" of the title, but as the play shows, these women see and comprehend more than do the males and have a deeper understanding of the problems and pressures of life. The title becomes an ironic commentary in the context of the play."
Tags: relationship, character, wife, domestic, role
Abstract This research examines the theme of justifiable homicide as the experience of finding justice in Susan Glaspell's one-act play "Trifles". The research sets forth the pattern of ideas in the work and then discusses the means by which it illustrates the emergence of justice. The paper uses the play to examine the issues of crime and punishment, as experienced by the main characters, the Wrights.
From the Paper "The theme of justifiable homicide arises in the context of the women's discussion of the Wrights and their fuss and bother over the household "trifles." They begin to notice things that housewives notice all the time around their own houses and around the houses of other housewives--how clean or out of place things are, what she was going to cook, what household projects she was working on. Ben-Zvi (141f) characterizes what they notice, the minutiae of housekeeping, as circumstantial evidence, not only of the crime of murder but also of the crime of wife abuse."
Abstract This essay exposes the ways in which the two female characters in Susan Glaspell's one-act play, "Trifles," come together over the history of marital cruelty that they are able to reconstruct by looking at the minutiae of her domestic household and remembering what she was like before her marriage.
Abstract This twelve-page sophomore essay opens with the characteristics of modern tragicomedy. It proceeds to lay emphasis upon the ending of the same and its difference from other genres. The paper then discusses one-act play "Trifles" by Susan Glaspell in several contexts.
Abstract This paper examines how in the story "Trifles," Susan Glaspell shows that Mrs. Wright was justified in taking the life of her husband. It looks at how John Wright is portrayed as a character that is controlling and uncaring towards his wife.
From the Paper "The County Attorney arrogantly knocks Mrs. Wright's homemaking instincts and Mrs. Hale returns with, "Well I don't know as Wright had, either" (553). This leads the reader to believe that John Wright did little to bring happiness and security into the home, which is two important pieces to a caring household. The County Attorney, badgering Mrs. Hale asks, "You mean they didn't get on very well" (553). Mrs. Hale swiftly replies, "No, I don't mean anything. But I don't think a place'd be any cheerfuller for John Wright's being in it" (553). Those words from Mrs. Hale lead the readers to remember that John Wright was a cold, unpleasant man. John Wright has slowly swept away Minnie Foster's happiness. The author shows us that she was once a very pleasant, outgoing individual. "
Abstract This paper explains that, to indicate social expectations, Susan Glaspell in her play "Trifles" employs symbols such as the apron, quilt and jar of preserves to illustrate Mrs. Wright's breaking out of her restricted role. The author points out that the apron is used metaphorically for her status as a farm wife; by pleating the apron, it becomes a part of her, supplying comfort and releasing tension. The paper suggests that Mrs. Wright uses her quilt work to express her inner feelings; whereas, she lives like the preserves in the glass jars, preserved for a later use to build and replenish, but she never fully reaches that later use.
From the Paper "One way Mrs. Wright finds relief from everyday triviality is through her apron. Her apron, a shield from dirt and flour, is like a shield she puts on everyday to balance the tensions between the expectations of her husband and the day-to-day relentless tasks of housekeeping. Her apron is a part of her. It is something she wears on a daily basis that resembles her life style, the life of a farmer's wife, sweating in the kitchen over daily chores, and in most cases not truly being happy. Even in jail Mrs. Wright asks for the apron: "She said she wanted the apron. Funny thing to want, for there isn't much to get you dirty in jail. But I suppose just to make her feel more natural.""
Abstract This analysis of the drama "Trifles" by Susan Glaspell argues that the women in the play bond with Minnie, a suspected murderer, because they are tired of being ridiculed and laughed at by the men in the play. The use of symbol and sarcasm is a focus of the argument.
From the Paper "Susan Glaspell's drama Trifles was written in at a time when gender roles in U S society were more rigidly defined. Women's roles during the era were largely relegated to that of wife, mother and housekeeper. In Trifles we see that Minnie .."
Abstract In this article, the writer looks at Susan Glaspell's play "Trifles" based upon the short story "A Jury of Her Peers". The writer discusses these works in terms of the ideas of crime and punishment. The writer also examines the cultural context of each work.
From the Paper "This research examines ways in which social experience informs conscience and behavior in Susan Glaspell's play "Trifles" and the short story on which it was based "A Jury of Her Peers". The research will set forth the cultural context of the narrative and show how inter-penetrations of conscience and social constructs in that context affect explain or justify behavior. The social milieu of Glaspell's story is a decisive component of the narrative. In the drab farmhouse where the action of 'Trifles' and 'Jury' unfolds all the people are ... "
Abstract The paper discusses how Susan Glaspell's "Trifles" and Tennessee Williams' "The Glass Menagerie" are, in spite of the different styles they use, very similar in their subjects and especially in the way they the construct the main relationships between men and women. The paper portrays how both plays represent femininity through symbols of extreme sensibility and fragility. The paper shows how the female protagonists in the stories, "Laura" and "Mrs. Wright" are also alike in many ways.
From the Paper "Glaspell's play is thus an overt criticism of the disregard that men have for the female, seemingly unimportant world. The main relationship in the story, that between the two absent characters, Mrs. Wright and her husband, is very significant: Mr. Wright gets strangled with a rope in his sleep and the main suspect is of course, his wife. The investigations and inquiries made by the sheriff and the attorney are symbols of the typical, pragmatic and masculine world of action. In the meanwhile the wives, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters notices the "trifles" connected with the main female occupations: the preserves, the needle work and so on. While the men are incapable of finding the most important detail of the crime, the motive, the two women discover it through their sensibility as women, and through the understanding that comes from common experience."
